Kurunai Dosai

A majority of my ancestors were farmers, my maternal grandfather became the last agriculturist of our family due to several reasons. They mostly grew rice & lentil crops in their farmland. There were large amounts of nutrient-rich broken rice and broken lentils kept inside kudhil (a gigantic earthenware used to store foodgrains) in my grandfather’s house. Since those small uneven particles of rice & lentil (kurunai) could not be sold in the market, they were used by our grandmother for making upma, payasam, kanji, kurunai dosai, etc.

Ketti Chutney

Idli with ketti chutney is a popular street food among bachelors who miss their home-cooked food for breakfast. Both my grandmothers prepared ketti chutney (meaning thick chutney) every day. It tastes delicious when served with spongy idli/ dosa. Nowadays we don’t prepare this chutney often, and we prefer to make a simple coconut chutney that does not require any tempering.

Thoothuvalai Chutney

Thoothuvalai (Solanum trilobatum) is a quickly spreading herb usually props up in our surroundings after a good spell of rain. It is a medicinal plant used in Indian medicines Ayurveda & Siddha to treat respiratory problems like asthma, cough, cold & flu. So we can add these herbs into our diet during winter or monsoon. Here I have prepared thoothuvali chutney that can be used often for breakfast.

Green Chutney

We can prepare restaurant-style Green Chutney easily at home using mint leaves or coriander leaves. A pleasant green chutney with a burst of flavors will surely make anyone salivate. Hence we can also serve this as an appetizer for kids or sick people who refuse to take food. It is heavenly to take soft idli or crispy dosa along with green chutney, red chutney (tomato chutney), hkjhkhd white chutney (coconut chutney) & sambar for breakfast.

Shallot Chutney

Shallot chutney also known as chinna vengayam chutney is a traditional chutney mainly prepared for young girls & pregnant women in our family. Shallots contain flavonoids that have powerful antioxidant properties, and they are also useful for improving emotional health & heart health. Other ingredients in this chutney are curry leaves & black grams. Curry leaves are rich sources of iron & folic acid and hence good for pregnant women. Black gram lentils contain calcium & other minerals required to increase the bone density, and hence useful for old women.

Tomato Chutney

Tomato Chutney is a delicious chutney and is so refreshing when a…

Coriander Seeds Chutney

Coriander seeds chutney is very effective in alleviating morning sickness for pregnant…

Roasted Chickpeas Chutney

Udaitha kadalai (pottu kadalai) thuvaiyal is an easy to prepare thuvaiyal. It…

Carrot Chutney

I find carrot chutney a delicious & healthy alternate to our regular…

Vallarai Thuvaiyal

Vallarai keerai (Centella Asiatica) is an amazing herb used by Indian pharmacologists to prepare a food supplement to improve the memory beneficial to children who are preparing for competitive exams and also to old people suffering from diminished memory. Nevertheless it is better to include such fresh herbs into our diet rather than taking them in capsule form. So we can make vallarai thuvaiyal at home to enjoy its benefits naturally. I personally found a significance difference when vallarai keerai thuvaiyal was served frequently to my father and also to my son.

Coconut Chutney

Every South Indian’s culinary journey begins with making simple coconut chutney because we all take this dish every day. Our breakfast platter is incomplete without the addition of creamy white chutney. We simply prepare coconut chutney by grinding fresh coconut meat & chillies and serve with most of the South Indian breakfast dishes.